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CincyRon's avatar
CincyRon
Explorer
May 13, 2015

Looking at a 2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD - advice?

My 2002 F-150 5.4L is really showing it's age and I'd like to move in to a diesel truck for the extra towing capacity. Stopped at a local dealer today and test drove a 2008 Silverado 2500HD with the 6.6L Duramax engine. It's in good shape, less than 73k miles, and they are asking less than $30k which is the upper end of my budget. I really know next to nothing about diesels and there seem to be a lot of knowledgeable folks on here. Any opinions or advice? I am at the very beginning stages of looking for a replacement truck so I'm not going to rush in to anything.
Thanks!
Tow Vehicles

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  • CincyRon's avatar
    CincyRon
    Explorer
    May 13, 2015
    Wow, thanks for all the advice guys. Just reading up on the DPF, etc. It's the extended (not crew) cab with 6'8" box and 4 wheel drive.

    The dealer gave me the previous owners name and number and I've got a message in to him to find out what he was towing with it, mileage, etc...
  • kmbelt's avatar
    kmbelt
    Explorer
    May 13, 2015
    I had one. Sold it after a year.

    It did regens constantly, mainly due to me having short drives. I live 5 mi from work. They HATE short drives.

    It never got more than 16mpg on the highway at 70mph. Towing my 9.5k 5er it got around 8mpg.

    Plenty of power and has great transmission.

    Small fuel tank, mine had the 26gal.

    If you have short drives too, don't knock a 2500 gasser. the GM 6.0 is a very good/reliable engine as i had one of them too.
  • N-Trouble's avatar
    N-Trouble
    Explorer
    May 13, 2015
    No it's not an LML but still a BIG step up from his current TV. To get in an LML at that price it would have to have a ton of miles. Good thing is it still has the reliable CP3 and not the CP4 hand grenade.

    08-10 LMM Duramax have a good track record with a lot of high mileage trucks still running strong.
  • kaydeejay's avatar
    kaydeejay
    Explorer
    May 13, 2015
    gmcsmoke wrote:
    small fuel tank, ..........
    True if it has the 6'8" box, not so much if it has the 8'.
    IIRC it's the difference between 26 gals and 36.
  • gmcsmoke's avatar
    gmcsmoke
    Explorer
    May 13, 2015
    small fuel tank, squishy brakes, old frame, low payload, frequent regens but it's a good truck just need to keep it within it's limits.
  • kaydeejay's avatar
    kaydeejay
    Explorer
    May 13, 2015
    Only problem with that year of truck (or any up to 2010) is the limited payload for trucks with the diesel.
    If its a 4WD, Crew Cab long box you could be looking at less than 2100# of payload.
    Check the yellow label on the driver's door pillar to see what it says "Occupants and cargo not to exceed xxxxpounds".
    That weight needs to handle all occupants in the truck, including the driver, a full tank of fuel, the weight of a hitch plus the loaded pin weight of a fiver or tongue weight of a TT.
    You will find that to be the limiting factor.

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